Not As It Seems
by Sany13
Summary: Sequel to Broken. Takes place little over two months after Brennan's attack. Brennan is going back to work when a new case is brought in with a past connection to one of them.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So here is the first chapter of the sequel to 'Broken'. It takes place little over two months after Brennan's attack. I'm not going to say too much since I don't want to give anything away. The next update could be a while since I'm going out of town. I'm bringning my laptop but it all depends on if I have time and can find a decent internet connection. Hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: It's not mine.

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Chapter 1 Coming Home

The lab was unusually quiet when he walked through the sliding glass doors. He had been expecting the sounds of Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth arguing, or Miss Montenegro giddy about something or other, or even the asinine comments that Dr. Hodgins often made. But what he got was silence. Sure there was the usual tech's walking around fulfilling certain task and equipment humming as they preformed there jobs, but there was nothing of the noise he had grown accustom to from the three scientists, the artist, and the agent.

Walking farther into the lab he saw a small group of people standing around one of the stainless steel tables. Silently making his way towards them he began to pick up parts of their conversation.

"I don't know Angela." Cam said. "Don't you think it's a bit much?"

"Of course not Cam, it's the least we can do after everything that's happened."

"Yeah but don't you think that she'll hate it. I mean I know you love her but she generally doesn't go for this sort of thing Babe." Hodgins said taking Cam's side in the matter.

_Babe?_

"Oh she only says that. Deep down she secretly loves it" her voice was defensive over the plans they, well she had been making all week.

"I have to agree with Hodgins and Dr. Saroyan on this one Angela. She is not going to like this." Zack's voice was steady when he spoke but it was laced with apprehension at what his mentor might say if they went through with this idea.

Sighing in frustration Angela barked "What is this gang up on Angela day?" She took a deep breath to steady herself before continuing. "Listen we are doing this and I don't care how much you all protest it. Got it! Good now I'll start planning…"

Having listened to them long enough he finally decided to make his presence known. When he cleared his throat he seemed to been ignored as they continued on with their debate. Trying once more he was met with the same response.

"May I be of some assistance to you?" he asked when the throat clearing had clearly failed.

Four heads turned in his direction. After the initial shock had settled Angela was the first to react. She jumped down from the platform and threw her arms around the man standing in front of her.

"Oh for God shakes" he said at the awkward display of affection coming from the raven haired woman hanging onto him. Cam waked over to him holding out her hand.

"Dr. Goodman it's so nice to see you again."

Disentangling himself from the overly enthusiastic artist he shook the other woman's hand giving her a nod of greeting.

"Dr. Saroyan I'm pleased to see that you get along with the team. To be honest I thought that you and Dr. Brennan wouldn't get along. I half expected to come back to the lab being in complete chaos" a slight smirk appeared on his face.

"Oh we worked through our differences" she said with a knowing smile.

"When did you get back Sir?" Zack asked finally finding his voice.

"A few days ago. We spent some time readjusting to the city and getting the girls settled before I decided that it was time for me to visit the lab." Turning towards the last man he had to greet he gave a tight nod. "Dr. Hodgins."

Hodgins responded in the same manner. "Dr. Goodman."

Now that the greetings were out of the way Goodman found his curiosity about what they were discussing growing.

"So were you all discussing the newest case from Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth?" he asked not noticing the slight frowns quickly settling on everyone's faces. "Speaking of Dr. Brennan, where is she? I half expected her to be here by now if she were in her office."

The four people surrounding him glanced to one another. They had all wanted to forget what had happened to their friend and fearless leader a couple of months ago but with Goodman back they knew he had to be told what had happened. They knew it would be hard to live through again, once was enough, but he did have to be told if only to avoid future awkwardness.

"Dr. Brennan won't be back until next Monday." Cam said in answer to the question no one wanted to talk about.

His face clearly shown shock at the pathologist's announcement. "Is she off doing more identification's in another third world country?" Goodman asked. "I highly doubt that she is actually taking a vacation." He smiled at the idea of the fierce anthropologist lying on a beach somewhere doing nothing. He just couldn't picture it. It simply wasn't in the woman's nature.

The four once again awkwardly shifted in their positions sending careful glances at one another. Once again Cam took it upon herself to tell the man the truth of the matter.

"She is off on sick leave."

At this bit of news Dr. Goodman's smile turned into a frown of concern. "What's wrong? Is she going to be okay?" he asked wondering what could be so serious that Brennan wouldn't be working.

Tired of all the eggshell walking Angela decided that it was time to sum up everything for the confused and worried man. It might hurt to talk about it but once it was done it could be forgotten or suppressed once again.

"To make a long story short Bren was attacked a couple months back. She nearly died…"

"Technically she did die for…"

"Zack this is not the time for technicalities" Hodgins snapped. Angela waited to see if anyone else was going to say anything. When it became clear that they weren't she continued.

"Some psycho thought she was his ex-girlfriend, whom he killed by the way along with three other women. Brennan being Brennan fought back. It was probably the only thing that saved her from a worse fate." Angela said wistfully. "The other woman he had is still going through therapy."

Shaking of the gloomy feelings that had bubbled up in her she continued.

"Anyway Booth caught the guy, nearly killed him, saved the woman he took after Brennan was found beaten on the side of the road and now he is awaiting trial." Angela finished amazed at herself for being able to sum it all up so quickly. She had thought it would take a lifetime to explain everything that had happened.

Goodman looked at them all in shock. He couldn't believe that all of this had happened since he was gone. _Maybe I shouldn't have extended my sabbatical after all. _Shaking himself mentally he said "It seems I've missed a great deal since I left."

Once again Zack had to clarify the extent of just how much the man had missed.

"You also missed Epps escaping and nearly killing Cam, not to mention the fact that Hodgins and Dr. Brennan were buried alive. And…"

Hodgins cut him off. "Zack he gets the point. He missed a lot."

The other three members of the group glared at Zack, who was confused at what he could have done wrong. Goodman stared at the younger man in shock. "Okay I'm definitely going to need to know everything that has happened since I left. I can't believe how much has changed in such a short amount of time."

_If he only knew how much _they all thought collectively. They hadn't even told him that Booth and Brennan were now together. Now that was going to be an interesting conversation for someone.

* * *

Brennan lay comfortably in Booth's strong arms. Her ribs had finally healed and her casts were no longer a hindrance since they were finally taken off the week before. Sighing contentedly she snuggled closer to the man in her bed. Even in sleep he had his arms wrapped around her protectively. She smiled at his peaceful looking face. She loved watching him sleep it was one of the only times he let his own defences down completely. He looked at peace when he slept like nothing could reach him or trouble his thoughts. 

She glanced to the nightstand by her bed to see what time it was. 9:30 am. She had to get up soon she had physiotherapy at 11. Thankfully there was just another week and a half left. Then she could stop going altogether and return to work. As much as she loved just spending time with Booth she was starting to feel a little confined in her life currently. It seemed that all she did was stay home or go to therapy. She couldn't wait for the day to come when she was back out in the field or at the lab working on just about anything. She also missed seeing Angela, the guys and even Cam. They did stop by to visit her but it wasn't the same as being in the lab with them everyday.

She was brought out of her thoughts when Booth pulled her to him tightening his grip on her. Looking down she saw a pair of chocolate brown eyes staring up at her. As soon as her eyes locked with his a smile spread across her face. It still amazed her how just one look from him could make her smile. Leaning down over him she gently brushed her lips against his in a soft tender kiss.

"Good morning" she said cheerily.

"Morning" he replied his voice still heavy from sleep. "What time is it anyway?" he asked wondering how much time they had before he had to take her to physio.

"A quarter to ten. We've got to get up and get ready soon." She told him though by the way she was curled up against him not moving an inch showed him just how much she actually wanted to go.

Booth sighed contentedly while he absently twirled a lock of her hair in between his fingers. He had never imagined that simply holding her would make him feel this good. It was better than anything his mind had ever conjured. Breaking the comfortable silence he asked "How many more sessions do you have left after this one?"

"Four I have to go every second day and after that there are the home exercises that I have to do everyday for the next month to make sure that she would regain full mobility. "I'll just be glad when I can get back to the lab and start working again" she said longingly.

"What sick of me already Bones?" Booth asked feigning hurt.

She playfully smacked him across the chest. He caught her hand pulling her towards him. He brought his lips to hers in a searing kiss. Just the feel of her lips pressed against his sent a fire through his veins and a shiver down his spine. He briefly wondered if it would always feel this way. _God I hope so._

Pulling away from him a little breathless Brennan stared down into his eyes. She lost all sense of time when she gazed into those dark liquid pools. Whenever she stared into his eyes she could see nothing but his love for her shining through them.

Tearing her eyes away from his she glanced once again at the clock flashing 10:11. Now they only had forty-nine minutes to get showered, dressed, and to the clinic.

"Booth we really have to get up now" she said regretfully moving away from him. She carefully got to her feet limping a little towards the bathroom.

Booth hated that she was still in pain from her attack. Her ribs and hand were fine now but her legs were still bothering her. He wished for the millionth time that he could have been there to stop what had happened to her. Her voice brought him out of the wish he knew was useless to have.

"Are you coming?"

Looking at her standing in the doorway he couldn't help the grin that spread across his face as he jumped up from the bed to follow her. _We are definitely going to be late _were his last thoughts as he closed the door behind them.

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_So there's the first chapter. Nothing too bad... Yet._

_Reviews are appreciated._


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Not as long as I normally like to have but I was away with little chance to write. Now that I'm back I wanted to post something so here is the next chapter. For those of you reading 'Someone's Watching' next update will hopefully be Friday but most likely Sunday, anyway on with the story.

Disclaimer: I'm just going to stick with the same old it's not mine.

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Chapter 2 Exhibit 

Brennan had had it. It was her first day back to work and what she had been expecting was to return to do what she loved, but what she had gotten instead was enough to drive her insane. Sure she was still adjusting to everything but there was no need for everyone to be treating her like she was a porcelain doll that would break easily. They were all trying to make sure she didn't over do it her first day back. The only thing their constant badgering had done as the day had gone on was piss her off more and more.

At first their concern was endearing. It showed that they'd really cared about her and were looking out for her. Everyone she worked with had come by to check on her at least once. Zack had been there three times offering to do the simplest things for her that she would normally do for herself on a normal day. When she told him that she could manage on her own he told her no. Zack! He had actually told her that he wouldn't let her do it and that she should rest her legs. Brennan thought she had entered some backwards universe. Zack never told her no. He always smiled and said yes Dr. Brennan, or right away Dr. Brennan. She had been so stunned that by the time she had realised what had happened he had already gone on and done whatever it was that she had been going to do.

Then there was Angela. Oh if she had to count the number of times Angela had been in her office that day checking up on her she would have had to hire an assistant to do nothing but keep a record of the artist's visits. Yes, the woman was her best friend but if she walked through that door one more time and asked 'how are you doing sweetie' Brennan was liable to throw something at the energetic woman.

All day her office had been one constant parade of people checking in on her and she had become more annoyed with every visit, even Cam had been by her office twice and she never came to her unless it involved a case. She was beginning to feel like one of the exhibits in the main part of the Jeffersonian. All that was missing was a sign outside her door saying 'Dr. T. Brennan Forensic Anthropologist of the Jeffersonian. She was recently attacked by a madman and is now working once again against everyone's better judgement. Be careful not to do anything that may hurt her she is fragile at this time. Warning - anger her at your own peril.'

_The next person that comes through that door asking 'how are you' or any variation thereof is going to get my foot up their ass as proof of just how fine I am _she thought bitterly.

Seconds after the thought she heard a knock on the door, which had immediately opened. Before the person had a chance to say anything she opened her mouth.

"If you so much as think about asking me 'how I'm feeling?' or anything remotely resembling the question, I will kick your ass to prove just how "okay" I am" she ground out eyes still focused on the computer screen in front of her.

There was a deep chuckle followed by a voice laced with amusement.

"Well then since I definitely do not want my 'ass kicked' as you so eloquently put it I will forego the asking those question."

Brennan's head snapped towards the door, her eyes landed on Dr. Goodman who was standing in her doorway. In all the worry everyone had felt over Brennan's return they had all forgotten to tell her that Goodman had returned.

Seeing her obvious shock at his appearance in her office Goodman decided to break the silence that had settled between them.

"It's good to see you again Dr. Brennan." She was still staring at him slack-jawed so he added "I do hope this will not get me the ass-kicking you mentioned earlier but how have you been?"

Finally coming out of her moment of shock she got up from the desk walked over and threw her arms around the man. If he had been uncomfortable with Angela's hug he didn't know what to think about Brennan's. He was certainly taken aback by the gesture the woman showed him. In all the time he had known her he had never seen her behave so… emotionally. She had always been strictly professional. _Good Lord. It seems I've missed a great deal more than what the others told me._

She stepped back from him to compose herself once again.

"It's great to see you again Dr. Goodman. When did you get back?" she asked purposely ignoring his last question. She couldn't very well beat up her boss for asking how she was now could she.

"Oh, I've been back in D.C. for little over two weeks now but only at the Jeffersonian for a week and a half" he answered smiling at her sudden shift back into the professional woman he remembered. "So how is your first day back going?"

Brennan smirked at the fact that he was avoiding asking her how she was directly but going about it in a roundabout way. _I wonder if he is actually afraid I'll assault him if he asked?_

"Not too bad, but if Angela comes in here once more asking me the same questions again I cannot be held accountable for my actions" she joked.

Goodman couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. Knowing Angela the way he did, he would expect that artist had bugged the anthropologist every fifteen or twenty minutes just to be reassured that Brennan was in fact fine. Still chuckling Goodman stopped when he had seen that said artist had walked into the office. As interesting as it may have been to see what would happened had the woman opened her mouth he opted to stop anything before it started.

"If you value your life Miss Montenegro I would advise you to reconsider what you were about to ask." He smiled as the confused look she had given him turned to worry as she flicked her gaze to Brennan. She promptly closed her mouth taking the advice given to her.

Goodman said his goodbyes to the two women then walked out the door. He was just outside the door when he heard Brennan's annoyed voice.

"Why didn't anyone tell me that Dr. Goodman was back?" Brennan asked getting strait to the point as always.

"I guess we all kinda forgot with everything that's going on" she replied sheepishly. "So how…" Brennan's glare and voice cut her off.

"Ange do as Goodman suggested if you value your life." Brennan said menacingly as she sat back down in the chair behind her desk.

_Oh she's definitely back. _Angela smirked at her friend threat; she was after all used to receiving threats from the woman when it came to her interfering with Brennan's life. Ignoring it she plopped herself down on the couch in Brennan's office. Now that she knew that her best friend was okay she wanted details of what life had been like living with Booth. She didn't even get a chance to open her mouth though as Booth walked into the quickly filling office.

"Hey Bones. How are you feeling?" he asked. Angela winced at the fact that Booth had just inadvertently given himself the kiss of death.

Brennan gave an exasperated sigh and asked "Why is everyone asking me that? I'm fine I wouldn't be here if I weren't." Both Booth and Angela scoffed at the remark. They knew damn well that she would have been working there in her casts if she could have gotten away with it. She continued on with her rant either not noticing their looks of disbelief or ignoring them.

"Anyway you should know very well how I am Booth. **You **brought me here." She was still sore about the fact that she wouldn't be allowed to drive for awhile yet. "Why are you here anyway?" she asked as an afterthought.

"Okay glad to see you're all bright and chipper this morning Bones. And can't I come by to visit huh?" he asked giving her a grin, which in turn caused her eyes to roll. "Actually I did come by for a reason, besides wanting to see you that is," he offered her another smile that she returned warmly. He returned his focus back to the manila folder he was holding as he waved it in front of her.

"We've got a case, but only if you feel up to it, cause I can get Zack to do it if your not" he told her not relishing in the idea of taking Zack out into the field.

She nearly jumped out of her seat to grab the folder he was holding. She couldn't wait to get back into the field. It was one of the things she missed the most about being off work for so long. She loved being an active participant in cases.

As she flipped through the folder Booth grabbed her bag and coat. Placing a hand on the small of her back he guided her out of the office like he had done so many times before, leaving Angela to stare after them. They had been so caught up in the new case they had forgotten she was there.

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_I know nothing about Raymond yet but it's coming… eventually._

_I'm still looking for a beta as well._

_Reviews are appreciated. _


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. So I'm going to try and update this at least once a week possibly twice a week depending on work and other stuff. Oh and thanks to Bella for the Beta job.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

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Chapter 3 Familiarity

Driving to the crime scene Booth kept sending worried glances towards Brennan who was steadily going over the case file. He still wasn't sure if she should be going out into the field so soon. He would have preferred to leave her at the lab even if it meant that he would have had to take Zack with him instead. Booth just didn't want to see her get hurt trying to do something she wasn't ready for yet.

"Who found the body?" Brennan asked still immersed in the file she was leafing through.

"A jogger, he was training for some marathon that's coming up within the next few weeks. He was jogging the trail like he normally did when he saw something off to the side that caught his attention, turned out to be a bone. With all the rain we've been having lately I'm surprised more little secrets like this one haven't come to light yet." Booth said glancing at her once again.

"So, how much longer before we get there?"

"A little excited to be back in the field there are we?" he asked grinning at her.

"Eyes on the road" she pointed a finger at the windshield. "And to answer your question you have no idea. I thought I would be happy to just get back to the lab, but if I had to stay there any longer putting up with Angela's constant mothering I may have taken drastic measures to stop her" she muttered thinking about what the artist would be like once they returned to the lab.

"You do know that if something happens to Angela now you're my first suspect and that I'm now a witness for the prosecution." He said jokingly completely understanding what the woman could be like when she was worried about Brennan.

"I'll just have to make sure I don't get caught then" she replied with a cheeky grin plastered on her face.

Pulling up to the park Brennan had a flash of a hazy memory. The name of the road they were taking had been familiar to her and now she knew why. This had been the road she had been left for dead on. She fought off the memory as she opened the door to step out of the car. She couldn't help but look around wondering where it was exactly that her body had lain motionless on the verge of death.

"Hey Bones, are you okay?" Booth asked gently placing a hand on her shoulder. He knew that they were close to the place she had been found but he had been hoping that it would be something she wouldn't remember it. The nightmares she had been having and still were having due to what she remembered of her attack before was enough already, she didn't need more memories to add to the cruelty.

She came out of her troubled thoughts at his comforting gesture.

"I'm fine" she said quietly staring up into his warm eyes. His eyes always could make her feel more at ease just by looking into them. They continued staring at one another silently conveying what they were feeling until they heard the scrunching of gravel under feet. Turning Booth let out an annoyed and frustrated groan at who he seen approaching them. _Of all the cops in this city why does it have to be him?_

The man had yet to notice that Booth was there, he had been so preoccupied with sizing up Brennan. Resisting the urge to punch the man on sheer principle alone, Booth instead moved his hand to the small of Brennan's back standing closer to her waiting for the man to address him.

When his eyes finally left Brennan's body to take in the man standing along side her, his eyes widen in shock for a moment before they narrowed into thin angry slits. He had yet to speak but his face was turning purple with rage, the veins in the side of his neck were popping out, and his hands were trembling he had his fists clenched so tightly. Booth would have laughed at the sight if he hadn't known what the man was like.

"You" he hissed. His rage at seeing Booth yet again was shining through. "You…" he was reduced to spluttering he was so angry.

"Detective Carter, it's so nice to see you again" Booth said his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Booth do you know this man?" Brennan asked completely confused by the way the two men looked as if they wanted to strangle the other.

"This" he said pointing at the round greasy man "is Detective Carter." Not getting any recognition at the name from Brennan he continued a biting edge taking hold of his voice. "He is the man I took your case away from."

Brennan processed his words for a moment before turning her line of sight back to the man before them. If a glare could kill someone Carter would have died a hundred times over. Booth had told her just about everything when it came to her case when she had gotten out of the hospital, she hadn't stopped asking him until he had, therefore she knew who this man was and what he had said.

"You nearly cost me my job!" Carter spat. "You… You…" he was reduced to spluttering again when he was at a loss of words to efficiently convey his anger towards the agent.

"I'm amazed you were able to keep your sorry little life let alone your job." Brennan said with contempt.

He shifted his angry glare from Booth to Brennan. "How can you say anything like that? You don't even know me. You have no right to judge me" he raged.

"Did you or did you not say that I deserved what I got?" she asked her voice deadly calm with cold anger. Booth could almost see the grave that Carter was about to dig for himself.

"What are you talking about? I don't even know you" he said contemptuously.

Brennan leaned a little closer to him. "If I'm not mistaken you said something along the lines of this 'a battered woman who deserved what she had coming to her.' No woman deserves that kind of treatment. No matter what happened no woman deserves to be left on the side of a road barely clinging to life the way I was!" Her voice grew more frigid by the word.

Booth watched as realisation dawned on the incompetent man. Carter looked as if he wanted to curl up somewhere and die now that he had been forced to deal with the woman he had so easily dismissed as unimportant when he had been handling her case. Booth had told Brennan when she had lain unconscious in her bed that she would put the fear of god into the man. Watching Carter now trying to back pedal his way out of what he had undeniably said months ago was showing just how true his statement had been.

"Bones why don't we draw and quarter the man later. We have a body to look at remember." Not wanting to waste anymore time he used the hand still resting on Brennan's back to guide her towards another officer who could take them to where the remains lay.

* * *

Finally arriving at the site where the remains laid Brennan squatted down slowly. Her legs were still somewhat stiff and unaccustomed to the strength it required to hold her body up in her current position. Sensing her discomfort Booth moved to help her but immediately backed off when her eyes shot daggers at him.

_Why does she have to be so stubborn? Just accepting help from someone doesn't mean you're weak. She shouldn't be here in the first place. She's not ready for field work this soon after what happened._

"So what have you got for me Bones?" Booth asked after a few minutes. _I can be just as stubborn as her if I need to be _he thought trying to fight back the need to rush over to her and make sure that she was indeed okay and not over doing it.

"Female, eighteen to twenty-three, mixed race. Her arm was broken."

"Recently?"

"No judging by the fact that the break has been healed I'd say it happened when she was thirteen or fourteen, most likely as a result of a fall."

"That it?" he asked waving his pen around in the air waiting for her to tell him something else.

"There are a number of marks on her ribs but I can't confirm anything until we get the remains back to the lab." She was just about to try and get up when she caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye when a cloud passed over head. Leaning in closer to look at what she had seen she noticed a small heart shaped locket. Reaching over she gently picked up the necklace almost falling on top of the body. Booth, who had been watching her like a mother hen was able to catch her before she had fell.

"You okay there Bones? Didn't hurt anything did you?" His eyes were quickly scanning her body for any sign of injury.

"No Booth. I just slipped on the mud" she said defensively. _The mud is slippery! Is that the best I can come up with?_ She asked herself. She'd be damned if she was going to tell him that her legs had given out under the sudden and unexpected movement she had made.

Helping her up he wrapped one arm around her waist to make sure her legs were steady before he let her go reluctantly.

"I found embedded in the dirt next to her." Holding up the necklace for him to see she couldn't help but think that it somehow seemed familiar to her.

"Alright maybe it will help us I.D. the body. It may have an inscription or something etched into it." He held out a small evidence bag for the necklace.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. So sorry about taking so long but my computer broke down and took everything with it. Gotta love those little problems huh? Hopefully now that the problem is fixed it won't take so long for the next chapter. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Nope not mine.

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Chapter 4 V.P.

The pair walked into the lab, Booth watching Brennan's every movement for signs that her legs might give out on her like they had at the site. They walked into her office; Brennan flung her jacket over the chair at her desk then turned to grab her lab coat. She turned to go out into the main part of the lab but Booth was blocking her exit.

"Booth, could you move?" she asked annoyed.

"Bones we need to talk about what happened." He told her moving enough only to shut the door behind him making sure to keep her in the office so he could address what had happened to her.

"I don't have time for this Booth, the body will be here any minute and I have to prepare everything for the exam" she said quickly losing her patience with the man in front of her.

"Yes you do. Zack can handle…"

"I don't want Zack to 'handle' it. I don't need anyone to do my job for me!" she said heatedly. She was sick of the way everyone was treating her like some delicate flower. She just wanted to get back to her life, the life she had before Raymond Johnson had messed everything up.

"Bones you almost fell at the site today. No scratch that you did fall I just happened to catch you." She opened her mouth to defend herself but he barrelled on, not giving her a chance. "And don't you dare say you slipped on mud. We both know you didn't."

She glared at him angrily. She didn't need him to tell her what she could and could not do; her own body had already and painfully reminded her of the fact. She knew she should slow down that they were right. But she hated not being able to be in control of her own life.

Booth knew how hard the struggle she was having within herself was, having already been through the same thing himself.

"You can still do your job Bones, no one is trying to take that away from you." He said trying to placate the young doctor.

"It sure as hell feels that way" she said, her anger starting to give way to her underlying fear that maybe they were right, that maybe she wasn't ready to do her job properly, that she would just be a hindrance to everyone during the case.

Seeing her distressed look Booth walked the remaining distance between them to envelope her in a comforting hug. He hated to see her this way, hated that she felt they were taking something important away from her when all they were trying to do was keep her safe.

He moved her away just enough so that he was looking into her watery blue eyes.

"We just care about you Bones. We don't want anything to happen to you." He smiled as an idea came into his head that would undoubtedly make her feel a little better. "I'll tell you what I'll get Angela and the squints off your back if you promise me that you'll take a break to rest your legs every couple hours. And by a couple I mean two not four or five like you seem to think it means." He said not moving his arms from around her waist.

Looking up at him she thought about his offer. She could admit, at least to herself anyway, that she should rest her legs a little more than she was, it had only been a few hours out in the field but they were sore already. Plus the physiotherapist had told her that doing too much too soon could cause more damage than help towards regaining her mobility and strength.

Smiling she nodded.

"If you can get Angela and Zack for that matter to stop treating me like a child I will gladly meet the requirements you have laid out."

Smiling himself now he leaned in to brush her lips with his in a gentle kiss. Just as their lips met her door opened to admit an oblivious Dr. Goodman.

"Dr. Brennan I…" seeing what he had interrupted he stopped not sure what to say.

"Dr. Goodman." Brennan started still within the circle of Booth's arms. She wasn't sure what to say. Everyone knew about her and Booth, including Cullen, she wasn't sure what to say to her boss.

Snapping out of his moment of shock Goodman continued on as if he had seen the two partners wrapped in each others arms everyday.

"Well, I just thought I'd tell you that the body has arrived and they are waiting for you to start" he said. As he left he couldn't help the thoughts that came to his mind. _When did this happen?_ _Did any of them actually tell me anything of what really happened while I was away?_

Turning her gaze back on Booth, Brennan's lips twitched into an amused smile at the confused expression she had seen on Goodman's face. Booth couldn't help but match her smile with his own cheeky one. Brennan reluctantly pulled herself out of Booth's loving arms to head out into the lab to start her examination.

She carefully walked up the stairs to the platform swiping her card as she went. She was trying to be careful in light of what had happened earlier when her legs had almost given out on her. She knew if Booth saw her faultier he would make her rest immediately. She stopped next to the table pulling on a pair of gloves to help Zack lay out the body for examination.

"Dr. Brennan don't you think…" he began only to be cut off rather harshly by Booth.

"Zack leave her alone. She is capable of knowing what she can and cannot do. Bones' doesn't need you to tell her how to do her job" he said showing Brennan that he was going to keep up his end of their bargain so long as she kept up hers. The soft smile he received as thanks told him she was going to honour her end of their agreement as well.

"Yes Agent Booth, I'm sorry" said Zack meekly, terrified at what the agent might do if he didn't do as he was told.

"Alright Bones, what can you tell me?" Booth asked pulling out his note pad to take notes.

"Booth we've only just begun. What makes you think I'd have anymore now in the last five minutes compared to what I already gave you at the site?" she asked annoyed but secretly loving the fact that he was doing exactly what she wanted, allowing her feel normal about her job again.

"Right. So how about I take this…" he dangled the little evidence bag holding the locket in front of her "to Angela and see what she can tell us huh?"

"Sounds good" she replied absently going back to the body taking in every little detail then writing it down on her chart.

* * *

Booth walked into the artist's office to find her nervously biting one nail while staring at her computer screen. She never even heard him come up behind her to take a look at her screen. There displayed in front of him was the same scenario that Angela had showed him a couple of months ago. When he had first seen it his fists had tighten and he had felt sick to his stomach as his rage consumed him, he was feeling those same feelings bubble up in him again. It was the attack scenario that she had recreated to describe Brennan's injuries, the only difference was that this time the figures weren't silhouettes, they were 3D images of Brennan and Raymond Johnson. 

"Why the hell are you looking at this Angela?" he asked heatedly his fury at what had happened coming back with a vengeance.

She jumped at the sound of his angry voice quickly exiting out of the screen.

"Booth I was… I was…" there was no way she could talk herself out of this one. She hadn't told any of them, Hodgins included, what she had been asked to do. The prosecution wanted to make sure that the recreation they were going to use at the trial was as real as possible. Caroline had told her that if they could show the jury exactly what had happened to Dr. Brennan at the hands of that man, along with the physical evidence provided by the FBI, they would have no worries about the man getting away with the insanity plea he was trying to use. As much as it hurt her to do it she didn't want the bastard that had nearly killed her best friend to get away on a technicality.

"I'm doing the recreation over so that it is as real as possible for the trial, at Caroline's request might I add" she sighed knowing it was as hard if not harder for Booth to watched the recreation again as it was for herself.

Booth relaxed a little now that the screen was cleared. He actually understood what she was doing he was just caught off guard at walking in on what was a very painful memory for him, the wounds not having had the time to heal completely had brought him back to that moment, as if he were reliving it all again.

"I understand Ange. Whatever you do thought **do not **let Bones see it. Got it?" he asked knowing he didn't really have to. Angela was like him, she wouldn't do anything that could possibly cause her friend harm.

"You know I wouldn't" she said indignantly.

"Good. Now I've got something for you to look at on the current case we are working. I was wondering if you could take a look at it to see if you can make out an engraving, serial number or something we can use to help identify the victim" he said getting back to business as usual.

"Sure what is it?" she held out her hand for the item.

"A locket, Bones found it next to the body." He handed her the small bag which she carefully dumped into a dish.

"I'll need to take this to one of the microscopes first and clean it. You want to come or are you going to wait here?" she asked knowing he would follow. He never was the wait by the sidelines type; he always had to be right there to see everything with his own eyes.

"I'm coming. Oh and I have to ask you to stop bothering Bones so much." She opened her mouth to protest but like he had done with Brennan earlier he rolled on over her attempt. It was the only way to get a word in when it came to the two women. "I know you're just worried about her but she is taking it as if everyone thinks she can't do her job. So if you can be discreet about how worried you are it would be better for everyone in the long run. And just so you know I did not just tell you any of that." he said so she wouldn't inadvertently cause him to put his foot in his mouth.

"Tell me what Booth?" she asked a conspiring smile taking hold of her lips.

"Exactly" he said grinning at the fact that she was always quick to catch on.

Coming to a stop to one of the microscopes Angela place the dish holding the locket under the lens. She picked up a bottle of saline solution and began rinsing off the locket uncovering what was written underneath. She used a cotton swab to better clean the delicate gold while staring at the screen watching the letters come into view.

"V. P. must be the victim's initials." Angela said still gently swabbing the area to see if there was anything else that could be revealed.

"Hmm. I wonder who gave her the locket" Booth pondered.

Just as Angela was about to say something they heard Brennan coming up behind them.

"Booth I got you some more…" she trailed off at what she saw on the screen in front of her.

Her face was a mask of confusion before recognition at what it was hit her. She slowly sank to the chair next to Angela, her eyes never leaving the engraved initials. It was as if she was in her own world where neither Booth nor Angela existed. She continued to stare while the two were trying to get her to say something so they'd know what was wrong. After probably the tenth 'Bones' one word fell from her lips.

"Vicki."

* * *

_I know I'm cruel to leave it there._

_Reviews are appreciated._


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed and/or put the story on alerts. Thanks to Bella for the betaing this for me. I don't know what it is but I always seem to forget to put in at least half the comma's I mean to. So nothing else really to say except, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I feel like I should be putting disclaimers in front of my disclaimers there so repetitive. But once again not mine.

* * *

Chapter 5

"Vicki? Bones, who is Vicki?" Booth asked worried by his partner's expressionless face. She looked as if she were miles away, off in her own little world of past memories, only she was sitting right in front of him. He was becoming increasingly uneasy with each passing minute of silence. He knelt down in front of her, placing his hands on her knees he stared up into her vacant eyes.

"Temperance, who is Vicki?"

The sound of her given name brought her back from her trip down memory lane.

"What?" she asked confused having not come out of her fog completely yet.

"Who is Vicki?" he asked gently.

"Vicki" she stopped as she caught sight of the engraving on the locket again. Shaking off her shock she stared back down into Booth's eyes. Finding courage in his soulful brown eyes she continued. "Vicki was a childhood friend of mine. Besides Russ, she was the only person I could ever talk to without feeling uncomfortable. We were inseparable when we were little." She smiled at the thought of her friend. "Her mother used to tell us that we needed a third stooge," her smile grew at the memory. "I never did quite understand what she meant by that, but I guess Vicki did because all she would say was that we didn't need to be stooges when we were already peanut-butter and jelly." She let out a small laugh remembering the serious look her friend had had when she told her mom that.

Booth smiled with her, happy that she wasn't alone as a kid, that she had someone there to share things with. His smile slowly began to fade as he saw the sadness creep back into her eyes.

"Just before I went into the system we made an agreement to always be there for each other no matter what happened. We even gave each other matching lockets with our initials engraved on them, but after I had to move so many times and out of the city in general we lost touch." Her eyes unconsciously turned towards the enlarged computer image on the screen displaying the initials V.P. so mockingly.

"But there are numerous people with these same initials, so it stands to reason that the likelihood that this…" she gestured to the locket "is Vicki's is a little improbable," she stated trying to find some reassurance in the science she relied on.

Looking away from the screen she stared into Booth's eyes when she remembered what it was she had went there to tell them.

"The body belongs to that of a female of mixed Caucasian and African American descent, she was twenty-three at time of death, but I'm still waiting on Hodgins to give me a better time estimate of how long she was buried in the park. Before I sent Zack to clean the bones I did notice an irregular shaped mark between her eight and ninth ribs, they don't really match any knife wounds I've seen but I'll know more once the bones have been cleaned," her voice had taken on the professional distance she always acquired whenever a case became too emotional for her.

Sighing at her sudden shift in mood Booth rose up from his knees before offering her his hand to help her up.

"Well, I guess there's nothing else we can do for the night. Come on Bones, I think it's time we got you home so you can rest your legs a bit. Don't want to overdue it your first day back do you?" he questioned with a slight smile on his face.

Brennan glared at him he was supposed to be getting everyone off her case; he wasn't supposed to become one of her annoyances.

"What?" he asked innocently desperately trying to hide the smile that was fighting to take over his lips. "I said I'd get the squints off your back I never said anything about stopping myself from making you rest when I feel the need," his cheeky grin finally took hold on his face causing her to scowl.

Sighing in frustration and knowing it was useless to argue she got up ignoring the hand he still held out for her and headed towards her office to pack up the things she would need for the night. Before she got to the top of the platform's steps she heard Angela's voice.

"What happened to your locket Bren?" her curiosity getting the better of her.

When she answered her voice was almost a whisper with the feeling of sadness that she had somehow let Vicki down.

"The first house I was put in my foster sister saw it and I guess she wanted it. She said that it was too pretty of a locket for a 'geeky little reject who's own family had ran away from her' to have." She could feel the tears building on the lids of her eyes threatening to fall.

"That was just before she ripped it off my neck," she added as she made her way down the stairs towards her office.

She had never once looked back at them so she never saw the tears that she had mirrored in Angela's dark eyes, nor the sadness in Booths.

* * *

Turning to Booth Angela began to rant on how her friend had been treated. 

"It's just not right. She goes through all that and some bully takes away the only thing she has left. She doesn't deserve that Booth," she said anger filling her voice.

"Bren is the most caring person I know. I mean sure, to the outside world she can seem cold and uncaring but they don't get to see the real her. All that stuff is just a way for her not to get hurt again and again, they only get to see the professional Bren they don't get to see the woman that would drop everything she was doing in a second to be by her best friend's side when she needed her the most."

Booth tried to open his mouth to show that he agreed with her but the woman never gave him a chance.

"She feels more for these victims than anyone else ever could. It's just not fair that she had had to have so many bad things happen to her. I know they say what doesn't kill you will make you stronger but how much stronger does she have to be damn it!" the artist was raging in a way Booth had never expected to see in his life time.

"Angela I know how you feel, but we can not do anything about what happened in the past. We can, however, show her how much better her life is now and how much better it is going to get. If I have any say in the matter I will not let her be hurt that way again," he told the artist, who was nodding in agreement. They would not let her troubled past keep her from finding happiness. That had been Angela's mission since she had befriended the woman and she had no intention of giving up on it.

* * *

Brennan walked in her office and immediately went to her desk. She sat down sorting through the files covering the desk occasionally sticking one in her bag all the while thinking about Vicki. She hadn't thought about the woman in years, which almost made her feel like she had betrayed her in some way. And now there was a body lying on the table in the lab that may very well be Victoria Procter. 

She couldn't let herself believe that it was her childhood friend lying out there waiting to be cleaned for examination. She had no scientific proof saying that it was her, yet she knew that once the exam was done and Angela did her facial reconstruction she would be staring at the adult face of Vicki.

She leaned towards her desk folding her arms on the edge before laying her head on them. A whirlwind of emotions rolling over her as she was bombarded with memories from a childhood she had long since forgotten. As the storm began to pass she raised her head up off her now damp arms. Pushing her emotions back into the small box she kept them in, she promised to find justice for the murdered woman awaiting to be cleaned, no matter if it was Vicki or not.

As she reached for a last file she needed that night an envelope in her inbox caught her attention. On the front of the plain white envelope was her name scrawled in messy writing. That was it, no return address, no postage stamp, nothing but her name. She carefully picked it up turning it over in her hands.

Sliding her finger into on of the corners she carefully tore open the sealed packet. She pulled out a small piece of paper that was folded neatly in half much at odds with the sloppy writing on the front. She opened it to reveal three words that made her blood run cold, her palms moist instantly and her heart rate to shoot up into dangerous territory.

The letter fell from her fingers to lie on the desk next to the torn open envelope it had arrived in. those three words staring up at her, challenging her. Her breathing became rapid as everything she had been fighting off for the last few months came back to assault her anew.

Who knew that three little words would hold so much power over her? Obviously he had known or he would never have sent them. There may have been no name on the letter, but only one man would send her such a note. **_You're Still Mine!_**

* * *

_Not my favourite chapter but oh well._

_Reviews are appreciated._


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